


Swimming Lessons

by Fishpaste



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-18
Updated: 2015-06-18
Packaged: 2018-04-05 01:23:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4160310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fishpaste/pseuds/Fishpaste
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peri has never learnt to swim. It's time to rectify that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swimming Lessons

Perpugilliam Brown, Peri to her friends, stood in the TARDIS’s admittedly impressive swimming pool and looked around her. The floor was clean white marble, the ceilings high and vaulted. Plants were clumped around the edges of the room, some of them unusual looking specimens the botanist in her longed to go and examine more closely. She shivered slightly and wrapped her arms around herself, where was the pompous egotistical idiot? He’d said he would be here any moment.

It wasn’t as though she really wanted to learn how to swim, but after their latest fiasco, when the Doctor had ended up chained to a rock in the middle of a lake, unable to free himself until she’d struggled over with the keys, he’d offered to teach her and she had accepted, the feeling of frustrated helplessness as she’d stood on the shore holding the keys and watched him tug fruitlessly against the chains still fresh in her mind. Only now she’d been waiting by the crystal clear water for about ten minutes, waiting for him to wander in from whatever he’d been doing in the console room.

As she was thinking that the door behind her swung open and her best friend, despite his habit of being the most irritating person in the world, stepped in. She turned around to berate him for taking his time and found she couldn’t speak, slightly too preoccupied with staring. He was dressed in bright blue swimming trunks, with a hideous lime green and spotted orange towel slung over his shoulders. The swimming trunks came down almost to his knees, perfectly decent yes but she had still never seen so much of her Doctor unclothed before. Usually he was protected by layers of brightly coloured and mismatched cloth, but now she could see so much more of him.

He was tall and pale, with golden curls spreading across his chest and legs. He was surprisingly muscled too, with thick strong arms and powerful shoulders. Her eyes took in the freckles across his shoulders, and the few scars marking his torso. If he felt her eyes raking over his body he didn’t comment, though an amused twitch of his lips gave away the fact she hadn’t been as discreet with her staring as she’d hoped. She wondered if he was as distracted by the sight of her in her dark red bikini, then instantly berated herself for the thought, he was an alien, and hundreds of years old at least, he’d never be interested in her in that way!

“Are you ready then Peri?” He asked, dropping his towel carelessly at the side of the pool and sauntering over to the shallow end. She nodded mutely, carefully placing her own, much more tasteful, towel next to his and hurrying after him. She hoped he wouldn’t push her in, like the other kids at school had done, yelling ‘sink or swim’ at her as she thrashed around in panic before the lifeguard had had to pull her out. But he just slid into the water himself, wading to a point where it came up to about his waist and patiently waiting for her to join him. She swallowed anxiously, she wasn’t exactly afraid of water, or of swimming, but it seemed nearly every time she got into deep water she nearly drowned. Turlough’s rescue of her pushed its way to the front of her mind and she resolutely shoved it back, sitting on the side of the pool and sliding in herself.

The water was warm, warmer than the air around it at any rate, and it swished around her thighs as she waded deeper, to where the Doctor was waiting for her. The water crept higher and higher up her legs until it had reached her stomach. She had never really just stood in water before, focussing on how it felt as it swirled gently around her. The difference in temperature was causing goosebumps to rise up along her arms and she hoped she wouldn’t start shivering. The Doctor, as always, looked entirely comfortable, annoying alien that he was. 

“So what now Doctor?” she asked.

“Before I actually try teaching you how to swim, I want you to get used to the feel of the water. Can you kneel down?”

He crouched down, the water coming up to his upper arms. She took a moment to admire the way the light shimmered across the bare skin of his arms, and the way the water droplets clung to his chest as he moved. She knelt down in front of him, feeling the water surge up until it was almost around her neck. The sensation was odd, not uncomfortable but odd, the water engulfing her entire body. He let her adjust to it before talking again.

“Now put your head under the water, you don’t have to open your eyes, move as slowly as you want to, but get used to the feeling of it around your face. You won’t drown; it’s all completely under control.”

“…okay.”

She took in a deep breath, filling her lungs with as much oxygen as possible before bending down and pushing her face beneath the water. Sound cut off and distorted oddly, the sound of her own heartbeat thudding loudly in her ears. It felt weird and she pulled up almost immediately, water running off her face. The Doctor didn’t say anything so she screwed up her courage again and went back underneath. Huh, it wasn’t all that bad actually, once you got used to the pressure across your face. Holding her breath wasn’t a problem, she knew she could take in air anytime she wanted just by sitting up again and the feeling of her hair spreading out and floating around was quite nice really. Could she risk opening her eyes? She decided to try it, squinting suspiciously into the water. It didn’t sting, as she’d half way expected, the Doctor probably didn’t use chlorine or anything to clean the water. The light was odd underwater, and everything seemed to wobble slightly, always moving. Just in front of her she could see the Doctor’s body, sitting there patiently. And, ah, oh the water was making those swimming trunks move and cling to him in all sorts of interesting ways. She blushed, wished she wasn’t and hoped he’d think it was just from holding her breath as she came up for air.

“What next?” She asked, hoping her voice didn’t squeak or give her away. He grinned at her, and was that a glimmer of smug amusement in his eyes? She couldn’t tell as he guided her to the side of the pool, encouraging her to hold on to the edge and let her body float.

“Relax Peri, the human body naturally floats, you’re full of air remember? Particularly you, you must need a lot of oxygen to be able to rant at me so effectively!” 

“I thought we were mostly water?” She asked irritably, trying to persuade her feet that it was perfectly safe to leave the floor of the pool.

“Don’t be pedantic Peri,” he said in a long suffering tone. “Sarcasm is not your strong point.” She was about to retort something even more sarcastic when she felt his hand on her legs, pushing them up and away from the floor. She drew in a shocked gasp of air, unsure if she was more surprised at the feeling of floating or the fact her actually had his hands on her and clung to the rail at the side of the pool. His hands were large and calloused, she could feel that through the water, and they were cool against the skin of her legs as they encouraged her to remain floating and trust the water to take her weight.

Hesitantly she relaxed once more, she could hardly fall could she? And she had the rail to hold onto and the Doctor was there with her and nothing could possibly hurt her when the Doctor was here. He was telling her to kick now so she did, ensuring she splashed him quite thoroughly as she did so. He spluttered, water now plastering his blond hair to the top of his head and running in rivulets down his face as he retaliated by sending a great wave of water across her back. She grinned at him, unable not to notice just how good he looked, all soaked and grinning, water shining across his entire body. She forced herself to focus on what he was actually saying rather than fall into useless daydreaming about him.

“Now just let go of the rail, you need to use your arms as well as your feet when swimming…”

Let go of the rail? So she’d just be floating in the water with nothing to hang on to? No, nope, never, was not happening! She shook her head, redoubling her grip on the side of the pool. Yeah, she knew the water was shallow here, if she stood up she’d be fine, but the idea of just being adrift and loose? What if the Doctor made a mistake and couldn’t get to her in time? Or if she floated to where the water was really deep and couldn’t get back? She couldn’t do it!

“It’s okay Peri, I’m right here, I won’t let you drown…” He said soothingly. She wanted to trust him, very much so, but there was just too much potential for disaster here; thank you very much! She shook her head again, more vehemently this time and heard him sigh above her. Twisting her head to look, she saw him staring at her with a sort of resigned amusement at her stubbornness. She glared at him darkly, debating on splashing him again.

“How about like this then?” And then there were hands around her waist, twisting across her stomach and holding her securely at his side. He was standing next to her, one arm wrapped around her entire body, while the other was splayed across her chest, holding her steady and keeping her face out of the water. The surprise was so great she automatically let go of the rail. She had never been this close – well, she’d been this close to him before but not when they were both practically undressed! The blush burned brightly in her cheeks again and she cursed it mentally, even as she flailed and grabbed at him. He shuffled backwards, taking her lovely rail out of reach and now she was totally dependent on him, stuck in the water with nothing to grab onto expect that stupid arrogant egotistical gorgeous Time Lord! He grinned smugly at her, waiting until she calmed down slightly and stopped cursing at him. She closed her mouth sheepishly, hadn’t realised she even knew so many insults, nor had she realised she’d been shouting them at full volume as she panicked.

“Feeling better?” He asked mildly.

“Shut up. Now what?”

“Put your arms out ahead of you. Good. Now can you feel the way they push the water when you move them?”

“Yeah, it’s weird…not bad weird but weird all the same.”

“Put your fingers together, so they’re like a paddle not a fishing net. That’s it, now try again.”

“…okay, I can feel the difference there.”

“Now, move your arms together, no, not like that. Push them out in front of your face, then scoop them back around to your sides. It’s called the breast stroke, one of the simplest ones.”

She tried, struggling to remember to hold the fingers together, keep her head out of the water, not elbow the rainbow idiot in the face and move them at the same time. She could feel how it worked though, the water was being pushed back as she pushed her arms back, and her body jerked forward in the Doctor’s grasp each time she did so. Eventually, she got a good rhythm down; kicking her feet when he prompted her too and feeling the warm water wash around her.

“I, I think I’ve got it Doctor.” She said, absurdly happy about that. She wasn’t swimming on her own or anything, he was still supporting her, but this was the closest she’d ever come to it! She grinned at him delightedly, this wasn’t so bad!

“Think you can manage on your own then?” He sounded just as pleased as she’d been, and he really had been very patient with her, he always was when teaching her anything, which was odd because normally he was the most impatient impulsive person she knew. Her teachers used to get annoyed at her nervousness in the water, muttering complaints under their breath as they tried to persuade her to get in the pool, but he’d let her take it at her own time, hadn’t pushed her to do anything she really wasn’t ready for and hadn’t stranded her or got bored and gone off to do something else. She felt a wave of affection for her tall blond friend.

“Alright, but stay close by?”

“Of course.”

He let go of her slowly, and she found herself alone and unsupported in the water. For a second she panicked again, the memory of the salty water pouring down her throat on Lanzarote leaping forward again, but her body automatically kicked and clawed at the water in the rhythm she’d been practising and she found herself moving forward, not sinking, not swallowing gallons of liquid, actually swimming! She was doing it! The temptation to laugh out loud was great, but the water swirling next to her chin persuaded her not to. There was a surge in the water and the Doctor was swimming beside her, a powerful front crawl and looking just as delighted as she felt. She beamed at him, waited until he smiled back and then flicked water in his face. The look of affront made her giggle; nothing could stop the sheer joy of this moment. She’s spent most of her life secretly ashamed of her inability to swim, her fear of the water and now, now she’d finally overcome it. She. Was. Swimming!

Okay, so she certainly wasn’t swimming very fast, and she doubted her technique was any good at all. But she was definitely staying afloat and moving forward. She could even turn! It was hard, and water splashed across her face frequently, and she was sure both her ears were bunged up with liquid, but it was all so worth it.

Eventually the exhaustion was too much, and she struck out to the side of the pool, still followed by the easily swimming form of the Doctor, who’d followed her on her slow laps of the pool like a faithful puppy, ready to help if she got into difficulty. She leaned against the railing, realising she’d swum too deep to put her feet down but no longer terrified by that fact.

The Doctor grabbed the railing next to her, not looking in the least bit tired or out of breath by the whole experience. Instead he was looking insufferably smug.

“See, I told you the human body naturally floats!”

“Shut up you.” She smiled at him, no real bite behind her words. “And thank you, you’re a good teacher.”

“Am I really?”

“Yes. And that’s all the compliments you’re getting though!” She laughed. He was floating so very close to her she noticed, barely a couple of inches between their bodies and he was shining wet, his blond curls in complete disarray, water beading off his arms as he held on to the rail. She found herself staring into his eyes. So very bright blue, and alight with laughter and intelligence. She had never seen such alive eyes before she thought. He was so close, face right next to hers. He was saying something, in a teasing tone of voice but she wasn’t paying the least bit of attention to his actual words, caught up in the fascinating movements of his lips, the warmth of his body next to hers…

She wanted him. She’d loved him for a long time, her beautiful fiercely protective amazing brilliant Doctor. She wanted to taste him, to touch him, to mark him as hers and hold onto him with everything she had. She knew he could never care for her in that way, she was nothing more than a human child to him, but she could never stop the fantasies, and right now, with the rush of endorphins and adrenaline from the swimming lessons, already practically undressed and with him so close to her, she gave into to instinct and pushed herself up, kissing him deeply.

He froze and she pulled back hurriedly, feeling the blush spread across her face and the guilt curl in her stomach. Stupid stupid stupid, of course he didn’t feel like that about her, she’d probably just ruined their friendship irrevocably, he’d demand she left the TARDIS, leave her back on earth, all because she couldn’t keep her stupid emotions under control and – oh.

He was kissing her, he’d leant down and pressed his lips to her and she responded, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself to him, feeling one of his arms wind around her back, holding her against his chest as his lips were soft against hers. His teeth grazed ever so gently against her lip, encouraging her to open her mouth, she did and he deepened the kiss, tongues playing together, Peri felt incredulous, so amazed and happy and thrilled, her stomach was doing flips of sheer nervous excitement, her head felt disconnected and floating as she breathed in the scent of him, ran her fingers through his wet hair. He broke the kiss, leaning his forehead against hers as she breathed in a shaky gulp of air.

“Peri…” He said, voice deeper than she’d heard it before, husky and rough. “Are you sure?” 

She couldn’t speak, nerves and disbelief and happiness and excitement robbing her of her voice and she nodded instead, pressing another kiss against his collarbone and pulling herself even closer to him. The water felt even warmer now as they stood, her Doctor as firm and steady as an anchor, tall enough to stand on the pool floor while she wrapped her legs around his, completely dependent on him to keep her out of the water as she nuzzled into his chest, peppering him with kisses.

He took in a deep breath, she could feel his chest rise as he did so and he kissed the top of her head. She tilted her face upwards, shivering in delight as his hand slid slowly along her spine. He distracted her with another kiss, hands trailing up and down her back. She clung harder to him, winding her legs around his, desperate to be closer to him. 

“Please, Doctor…I…”

“Shhhhh….” His large hands were quick and confident and infinitely gentle as they undid the strap on her bikini top, allowing it to float loose and away from them. She shivered, feeling the water around her bare top, and then not just water. The Doctors fingers brushed feather light over her breasts, making her shiver and arch her back, He teased her nipples to full hardness, smirking at her as she gasped and bending down to use his tongue as well as his hands. Peri whimpered from the sensation, wanting more and unable to articulate that as his clever hands took her breath away.

Deciding it was time for her to go on the attack she twisted in his grasp, plunging one hand down towards his far too obstructing swimming trunks. She found their waistband and slid her hands inside, seeking and finding. Above her the Doctor gasped something in a language she couldn’t understand, arms tightening around her. She grinned delightedly at his reaction. 

He felt like a normal human male, she couldn’t see what she was doing, was going solely by touch, but he seemed perfectly normal in the trouser department. And he was hard. She felt a bubble of incredulous belief, he wanted her, he actually wanted her! Apparently her amazement had made her pause too long because the Doctor muttered something impatiently and released her. She gasped in startlement, finding herself suddenly floating as he dived underwater. She managed to find a method to stay upright and afloat and stared curiously at the blurry image of the Doctor under the water. He shucked off his own shorts, and she wished desperately that the water would allow her a better view. Then he was in front of her again, fingers determinedly working their way into her bikini bottom, and all rational thought fled her mind. 

She shivered, moaning in delight as he finally pulled the constricting fabric off. Naked, in the swimming pool with an equally naked Doctor, she almost giggled in disbelief. He surged up, water cascading off him and grabbed her again, entwining the two of them closely. She could feel him pressed up against her, hard and eager and oh so much better than expected. She reached a trembling hand down, stroking the tips of her fingers lightly down his length, and he groaned, biting down on her shoulder, sucking and lapping at the flesh, leaving a mark that would be visible for days.

Then his hands were tracing down her spine, over the tail bone and towards her most intimate place. She bucked in his grasp as he inserted a finger, oh that felt good… She clenched around him, whimpering as he slowly withdrew, and then pressed forward again. He was breathing heavily, staring intently into her face as she gasped and moaned. He inserted a second finger, the stretch feeling just so damn good, she pressed down, more, faster, now! He was moving so agonisingly slowly! She suddenly remembered she had hands and gripped his shaft more tightly, pumping her fist up and down and listening with pleasure to his strangled gasp. He chuckled darkly.

“Oh, is that how you want to play it?”

He pulled her up higher into his arms, taking the opportunity to run his tongue from neck to breasts again, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, holding herself to him, thrilling in nervous anticipation. He paused again,

“Are you sure Peri?”

She rolled her eyes, honestly, would he just get on with it? And answered him by lowering herself down again, feeling him inside her, filling her, deeper and harder and oh god it felt so good. He was inside fully, joined together as much as two people could be and she moaned and whimpered, clutching at him, awash with sensation. He moved his hips, pushing in and out, the motion feeling so delicious, friction and heat and pleasure. She kissed and licked distractedly at his chest as he thrust, getting faster and harder and oh, suddenly hitting that perfect spot, making her cry out with pleasure. She panted, feeling him slick and hard and smooth and fast. More, harder, faster, please… She clenched around him, wrapping her legs around him tighter, she was so so close now. Hands on her arse, in her hair, her breasts, lips across her face, she gave herself up to sensation, filled by it, washed away but the glorious heat of it all, the feeling of him pounding roughly into her willing body.

She came with a wail, shouting out her hedonistic pleasure to the sky, fingers digging hard into his shoulders and back. He followed her almost instantly, gasping out his orgasm and falling back limply against the rail, her splayed across his chest. He slipped out of her and cradled her close to him, murmering nonsense into her ear.

“My Peri, so good, my beautiful gorgeous, amazing Peri, so good…”

She smiled at him, exhausted and unable to talk, nuzzling into his broad shoulders and feeling more at peace than she could ever remember being in her entire life. This, this was perfection and bliss and everything she had ever wanted. He grinned back at her, noting her sleepiness with amusement.

“Come on, bed. This is hardly a good place to sleep.”

“Mmmm.”

He pulled her into his arms, carrying her easily as he clambered out the pool and padded swiftly through the corridors, ignoring both their state of undress and the water dripping off them both. Peri closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of movement, and having her Doctor holding her so close to him. 

She felt him lay her down on her own bed, and her eyes sprang open, he wasn’t going to leave her was he? No, he was crawling in to lie down next to her. She turned to face him, pressing as close to his body as she could.

“Love you.” She said quietly, feeling his arms wrap around her again, holding her tenderly.

“Love you too Peri.” 

She smiled in utter contentment and drifted off to sleep. This was where she belonged.


End file.
